Shaa FM
Sinhala language radio station Shaa FM caters to the Sri Lankan youth and it is managed by Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited (ABC), which is listed as a subsidiary of Rayynor Silva Holdings (Pvt) Limited as per the official websites of both companies. ABC also manages several other media outlets including Hiru FM, Gold FM, Sun FM, Sooriyan FM and Hiru TV. Akin to its sister stations, Shaa FM features news segments and various talk shows.
In 2007, the Sri Lankan government suspended ABC’s radio broadcasting licenses on two objections: firstly, that although ABC’s licenses were issued on 17 November 1995, the company had only been incorporated in November; secondly, that ABC had broadcasted an erroneous report during the country’s armed conflict. Despite ABC having issued an apology and attempted to rectify the erroneous report, the government proceeded with the suspension on the grounds that it was reportedly a “gross violation of the freedom of expression”. Moreover, the Supreme Court dismissed ABC’s fundamental rights petition and ordered Chairperson Rayynor Silva to pay a Rs. 250,000 (2,259.99 USD) cash bail for submitting a false affidavit to the Supreme Court which had reportedly suppressed the initial erroneous news content ABC had broadcasted. Several media-related groups such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Free Media Movement (FMM) however widely condemned the suspension.
Audience Share
3.93%
Ownership Type
Private
Geographic Coverage
National
Content Type
Free to air
Media Companies / Groups
Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited
Ownership Structure
Shaa FM is owned by Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited, a member of Rayynor Silva Holdings (Pvt) Limited. The total shares of the company are owned by Skyline Pacific Real Estate (Pvt) Limited. Notably, Skyline Pacific Real Estate (Pvt) Limited is wholly owned by the Silva family, particularly by Chairperson Rayynor Silva (33.33%), his mother (33.33%) and father (33.33%).
Voting Rights
Missing Data
Individual Owner
General Information
Founding Year
2002
Affiliated Interests Founder
The radio station was founded by Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited, which is owned by Rayynor Silva. Rayynor Silva is a well-known businessman in the broadcasting field of Sri Lanka. He is the Chairperson of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited, which remains one of the largest radio networks in the country. He took over Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited after the UK-based Sunrise Group closed down their operations in both the UK and Sri Lanka. Rayynor’s brother Vincent Silva serves as the current CEO of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited. Meanwhile, former Minister of Parliament Duminda Silva is also Rayynor Silva’s brother. The Supreme Court on 11 October 2018 dismissed the appeal filed by former Member of Parliament Duminda Silva for the murder of former Member of Parliament, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra.
Affiliated Interests Ceo
Vincent Silva is the CEO of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited. He is the brother of Chairperson Rayynor Silva and former Member of Parliament, Duminda Silva, who was sentenced to death for the murder of former Member of Parliament, Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. Vincent also serves as a Director in Skyline Pacific Real Estate (Pvt) Limited, which was the sole shareholder of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited until March 2018.
Affiliated Interests Editor-In-Chief
Kevin Nadira Silva - Channel Head
Affiliated Interests other important people
Sudewa Hettiarachchi is the Head of News at Shaa FM, Hiru TV and Hiru FM. He entered Sri Lanka’s media sphere at an early age as a dubbing artist in Radio Ceylon’s ‘Lama Pitiya’. He joined Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited in 1998. He was reportedly the pioneering anchor of Hiru FM’s morning programme.
Kanil Jayaratne – Technical Editor in Chief / Engineering Director
Contact
Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited
No. 35th Floor, East Tower, World Trade Center, Colombo 1
Tel: +94 112 686 670 / 114 385 882
Email: md@asiabroadcasting.lk
Website: www.shaafm.lk
Financial Information
Revenue (in Mill. $)
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Operating Profit (in Mill. $)
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Advertising (in % of total funding)
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Market Share
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Further Information
Meta Data
The official website of Shaa FM does not provide information regarding the station’s ownership. However, the website provides a brief description about the station. In general, there is limited information available on the station. Ownership details were gathered through the annual returns available at the Department of Registrar of Companies. Listenership data was obtained from the Kantar Lanka Market Research Bureau (LMRB) for the year 2017 (January- November). While the Media Ownership Monitor research team reached out to Asia Broadcasting Corporation (Pvt) Limited by formally requesting for the company’s information on 20 July 2018, the company did not respond to the aforementioned request. The Central Bank’s average exchange rate for 2007 (110.62) was used to convert the amounts into USD.
